Representatives of 50 African countries, including 20 defence ministers & service chiefs, participated in India-Africa Defence Dialogue chaired by Rajnath Singh on sidelines of DefExpo.
Speaking on the sidelines of the exhibition, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the country had already 'managed to do defence exports worth Rs 8,000' in the first 6 months of this fiscal.
Russia and the US have been prominent players at previous defence exhibitions held in India. During the Aero India show last year, the biggest exhibitor was Ukraine.
PM Modi targets $5 billion in defence exports in next 5 years. If 'Make in India’ reaches its full potential, $10-15 billion is achievable in a decade.
Top Boeing official Thom Breckenridge said the aircraft will fulfill the Indian requirements and that they are in discussion with the Indian Navy for the trials.
The MoU, signed at DefExpo 2020, calls for manufacturing & selling of drones to Indian defence forces, paramilitary forces & central armed police forces.
The ministry will have little defence for the fiasco that the show is heading towards, with exaggerated numbers and important tenders set in the midst of it.
In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.
IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.
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